


The Soldier, Poet, and King

by oH_goD_iTS_hEr_AgAIn



Category: Original Work
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:55:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22590589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oH_goD_iTS_hEr_AgAIn/pseuds/oH_goD_iTS_hEr_AgAIn
Summary: Nyx Griffin grew up in an orphanage with Kai Prevost. They were best friends, more, even, like brothers. But what happens when Kai is adopted and taken away? What will happen when Nyx’s only true friend is seemingly gone forever? And what will a split seccond decision made in Nyx’s mind do to change anything?~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Or, I saw this one thing on TikTok  and decided to make a story out of it so here you go-
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	The Soldier, Poet, and King

On a warm summer’s evening horses hooves clipped and clopped as the merchants who rode them cat called. The men of the village were walking to their stores and blacksmiths shops. Cloth-topped village homes lined the stone brick roads and shone in the mid morning sun. The women inside them were sewing or taking care of their very busy families. And though the village of Estorra seemed to be full of life, nobody seemed to notice the still and quiet building where all the parentless children lived. It was the orphanage.

Inside, those children were getting lunch. “Nyx!” One child whined, “Please, can I have your chocolate milk? Pleeaaasseee?” 

“Ha-ha,no. Kai, you’re always taking my chocolate milk. I wanna keep it today.” Sighing in defeat, Kai dragged Nyx off to find a picnic spot.

Nyx Griffin was 10 currently. He was tall and lanky, with short night black hair and the most enchanting dark eyes. Kai wasn’t as tall as Nyx but there wasn’t too much of a difference. Kai contrasted greatly from Nyx seeing as he preferred to wear bright colours whereas Nyx strayed farther towards darker hues. Kai had golden brown hair that was longer than nyx’s, since he didn’t care for it much, with thin streaks of blue. 

A year or two later, moments before curfew, Nyx was preparing for bed. Usually he would’ve been off sneaking about the orphanage by now, but Nyx was actually pretty tired today. He laid in bed and just as his eyelids were getting too heavy to hold open and he was about to succumb to sleep, a little figure danced around In the shadows. First past the door, then past the closet, and finally to the foot of nyx’s bed. A small part in Nyx’s mind wondered if he should worry, while the rest of him was too sleepy to care.

“Psst! Nyx! Wake up!” The shadow whispered, somewhat familiar to partly asleep Nyx. “Nyyyxx wake up! I need to tell you something!” Finally, Nyx woke up enough to recognise that Kai was the one whispering. “Kai? What are you doing?” Nyx mumbled, sitting up and rubbing his eyes with his knuckles. Kai was nyx’s best (and only) friend. The kids of the orphanage were scared of nyx, seeing as he came from a family notorious for using dark magic. This did not sit well with residents of Estorra since magic of all types was feared. But more on that later, maybe. 

“Happy birthday, you big doofus.” Kai whispered, now sitting on nyx’s bed.

“It’s a few past midnight, isn’t it?” Nyx asked, unamused.

“Yup, now take your birthday present.” Kai handed Nyx a small parcel wrapped neatly. Inside was a small glass vial filled with sand attached to a piece of twine, creating a pendant. Next to it were two seashells. One of them was painted to look like ocean waves. The other one was left untouched;natural. But why such a strange present? Nyx was a beach bug. He loved the feeling of sand between his toes, the way the water gently brushed pass his fingers and how the wind blew softly in his face. He loved it so much, he began to practice elemental magic behind everyone’s backs ( a highly illegal hobby). Everyone’s except for Kai’s, Obviously. 

“...So? What do you think?” Kai asked, suddenly unsure about the present. Was the necklace too girly? Was it too little? Oh, dear god, he shouldn’t have gotten Nyx a bunch of rocks for his birthday! He’s gonna hate m-!

“I love it!” Nyx whisper-shouted.

“What?”

“It’s amazing!”

This moment was one of the first In a long series of wonderful shared moments between the two. A couple of years later, at 14, this memory was made:

It was the dead of night. Nyx was sleeping over at Kai’s sleeping quarters, purely for the sake of having fun. Being inseparably close, they shared Kai’s bed. At the time, Nyx was reluctant to wake up and leave Kai’s bed to use the restroom. Now, though, he’s utterly relieved it happened. Just as Nyx was about to get back into bed, Kai’s breathing began to quicken. Beads of sweat found their way out of kai’s skin and trickled down his neck. Kai began to thrash about in his bed. Picking up on his distress, Nyx put a hand on Kai’s shoulder and shook him awake. “Kai, come on, come on, it’s just a nightmare, wake up.” Finally, with a small gasp, Kai awoke. For a second, his eyes looked dulled, a shadow of some sort seemed to block out the light that so frequently glimmered in Kai’s eyes. Oh, how horrible it looked. Nyx had suppressed a shiver at the sight of his best friend looking so lost.

“Ni-nightmare.” Kai stuttered.

“It’s okay” Nyx replied embracing his best friend and almost brother. 

After this, no doubt was left in any person’s mind that those two were like brothers. They did everything together. Until…

Kai was acting strange that day. That was the first red flag. And, was it just him, or was Kai avoiding Nyx that day? finally, the opportunity arose for Nyx to talk to Kai. 

“Hey Kai?” Nyx asked tentatively. 

“... yeah?” Kai replied after a moment.

“Come with me?”

“Okay.”

Nyx guided Kai outside the orphanage and to the garden. “So, what’s up?” Kai finally asked.

“Kaiwhatswrongwhatdidido-?”

“Nyx!” Kai said with a laugh. (Was that the first real laugh Nyx heard from Kai in a while?). Nyx sighed, “I’m sorry, it’s just-what’s wrong? Did-did I do something wrong?” All mirth left Kai’s face. “I guess I should tell you, it’s not long till everyone else knows…”

“Kai?”

After a deep breath, kai began talking again. “Well, you see,-I’m getting adopted.”

Nyx felt like he had been struck across the face. That wasn’t what he was expecting.

“What?” 

“I’m Sorry.”

The next few days passed in a blur, much to nyx’s dismay. He wanted their last few days at the orphanage together to be special.

Finally, the time came where a carriage was awaiting Kai and Ms. Edith. As much as he wanted to, Nyx couldn’t burst into tears and cling onto Kai for forever. With a seconds too long hug and an intentional aversion to saying ”goodbye”, Kai was off with Ms. Edith to some unknown family. Throughout the journey to this family, in their horse pulled carriage, Kai was nervous. What would this family think of him? Would they like him? 

At long last, they arrived at presumably this family’s home. With trembling fingers and wobbly knees, Kai made his way down the small stone path to this family’s home with Ms. Edith following him. Wow, Kai thought, this house is huge! Without so much as a knock, the door of the home swung wide open. There, standing at the doorway, stood a girl with an infinite amount of red coils for hair, green eyes, brown circular glasses and a dress much too simple for such a lavish house. “Hello!” She exclaimed, excitement evident in her voice. “I’m Lydiya Belle! You must be Kai. Ooh, I am so excited!” She started bouncing on her toes. From inside,Kai heard a man’s voice call them inside. “ Lydiya! Invite them in!” He shouted. 

“Oops! Where are my manners? Kai, Ms..?”

“Edith” Ms. Edith supplied.

“Yes, well, Ms. Edith, Kai, please come in.”

“Oh, no, my dear, I couldn’t. Please give my greeting to your parents.” She turned to Kai, “alright Kai, this is where we part ways, send me a letter every so often, okay?”

With a noise of agreement Ms. Edith turned and left. “So… wanna see inside?”

Kai couldn’t decide which was fancier, the exterior or the interior of this house. Lydiya led Kai down a long corridor that seemed to wind and twist on forever. Finally, they reached a dead end hallway that ended with a window. “Here it is, your new bedroom! I’ll let you settle down and call you when dinner is ready.” with that Lydiya turned on her heels and left. 

Kai looked around the room. It”s quite spacious, he observed. The bed was along the wall that had a huge window that let in an immense amount of light. There was a bedside table that was carved from wood and elaborate designs engraved onto it. Enough gazing, Kai, get unpacking already, kai thought to himself. 

After unpacking and reading through the first couple of pages in a book the Belle family left for him on the desk, Kai heard the now familiar sound of Lidiya’s voice. “Kai! It's time for lunch!” she called. Leaving the book open to the page he stopped reading at, kai opened his bedroom door and tried to navigate his way around the new home and find the dining room. Luckily, kai found his way just fine and was not late to lunch. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Belle.” kai said. 

Mr.Belle seemed to be a tall man with an air of respect and confidence. His shoulders were braud and he sat with a straight back. He didn't seem to be the kind of man to mess with. Mrs. Belle, however, seemed to be quite the opposite. She was short and plump and seemed a lot easier to get along with. Strangely, there were two other kids at the table and Lydia. Kai made a mental note to ask Lydiya about them.

“welcome dear, have some soup, will you?” Mrs.Belle asked, already filling his bowl with some. “Thank you” Kai said after receiving his bowl. He took his bowl and sat next to Lydiya.

“Who’re those?” Kai whispered to her.

“Our siblings, Nora and William. He prefers Will, though”

After dinner, they cleaned and the kids went up to play. “So…” Lydiya started, “what do you think?” 

“You know, I think I just might really love it here.”

Nyx continued to learn Magic, even more so after Kai left. Nyx became so good at it that eventually he was able to use magic so discreetly, nobody noticed. Nyx would tell stories, using pieces of string and manipulating them into all different shapes and sizes. But, that didn't mean all fun and games. One night, Nyx was being a little less careful with his magic and one of the boys he shared a room with walked in.

“Hey, Nyx I-“ He stopped mid sentence. “What are you doing..?” Nyx was practicing a new spell with his wand. 

“Um.. nothing?” Nyx said, trying and failing to sound convincing. 

“Wait… Is that a- a wand? Are you practicing magic? Nyx, are you a mage?”

Nyx couldn't reply. He could lie, he knew how to, heck, he kind of need to know how to, but he couldn't decipher why he didn't want to. This boy in the orphanage held no value to nyx, and yet he now suddenly posed a great threat to him. If the monarchy found out that he was practicing magic… a shiver ran down nyx’s back. Let’s not think about that just yet. The boy didn’t need an answer however; the look on nyx’s face was enough of an answer.

“Oh my god, you are!”

In a moment of weakness, Nyx pointed his wand at the boy, “Not a word,” Nyx threatened, “Not a single word about any of this, to anyone. This never happened. If I’m gone by morning, you don’t know what happened, understood?” Scared, the boy nodded noiselessly. “Good.” Taking the opportunity, the boy turned and all but ran out of the room.

Without a moment to spare, Nyx began to pack his belongings into a bag, enchanted to hold a near infinite amount of belongings. By dinner, he was done packing and Nyx made his way down to the eating quarters. 

Time seemed to pass way too slow and yet at the same time, seemed to pass way too quickly. In only a few hours, Nyx would be out of this place. He had mixed feelings about that. For one, he was happy to finally be leaving this place, but also, Nyx had spent nearly all his life in this place. He’d made and lost the best person in his life here, started to learn magic and he’d even done some ‘normal’ things such as learning to weave and carve wood.

Snapping out of his thoughts and back to the present, Nyx formulated a plan. I’ll leave around midnight, after all the caretakers are asleep. I’ll sneak into the kitchen and grab enough food to last me a few days and pocket any coins I find, then I’ll head out and spend a night in the woods. In the morning, I’ll head to town and find a decent job. Content with his plan, Nyx headed back to his room. 

Finally, Midnight came around and Nyx got out of bed. He slung his bag across his shoulders and tiptoed down the cold and quiet corridors of the orphanage. Adrenaline surged through his veins, making Nyx jumpy. Every shadow caused Nyx to flinch, every whistle of wind causing Nyx to jump and every creak of the floorboards made Nyx look over his shoulder. At last, Nyx made it to the kitchen. He quickly took what he could without making much noise and left. 

Nyx felt as though he could finally breathe again once he made it out of the front gates of the orphanage. He could now run under the moonlight and no one would come looking for him. He let out a laugh, nothing really funny, only laughing at his own absurdity and only feeling relief washing over him. That relief was short lived, however, and the reality of what he had just done began to sink in. For a brief moment, Nyx considered the idea of going back before he shoved that thought out of his mind. No way, Nyx thought, that boy already knows and I can’t risk being caught by the monarchy. With that thought in mind, Nyx started his trek to the forest. He would camp out there for a night, then go to the village in a disguise and try to find a job.

Nyx was lucky; he was able to find a decent paying job within a week or so of leaving the orphanage. He worked as a wood worker’s assistant. Nyx used the name Nick Eversteen as a pseudonym, so that, even though it wasn’t very likely, he didn’t get caught and sent back to the orphanage. 

Saturdays were his favorites. Every Saturday, merchants from faraway lands came into the village in the early morning to trade goods. Children would run around the center plaza of the village pulling their parents along with them, as the merchants set up their booths. Finally, once the merchants were ready, around noon, most of the village were out and about, ready to browse the trading booths. 

Nyx, with whatever money he had to spare, would walk around taking in the sights of the village. He found it interesting to watch happy nuclear families laugh together, cry together, or even watch them walk together. It was something Nyx never had, and probably won’t ever have. It was something that he had, in his days at the orphanage, longed for. 

Nyx walked, not focusing on where he was going, until a particular booth caught his eye. It was lavishly decorated and had a glittery sign uptop. Nyx immediately knew who this booth belonged to. The Belle family. The second richest family in the village. Nyx resented them. He never really encountered anyone from the Belle family, nor did he keep up with the news that always seemed to follow them, but he could never forgive them for what they had done to his ancestors. They threw nyx’s ancestors in jail for the smallest of crimes and discriminated against them just because they used magic. It was unfair. And sure, it might have been a petty grudge to hold, but Nyx would gladly stick up for his family against injustice. 

But, he couldn’t help himself. 

Making a split second decision, Nyx began to sneaking creep towards the booth. He tried to look inconspicuous. Nyx walked up to the booth and pretended to be greatly interested in the items for sale. On the booth’s table, laid neat, leather bound books tied closed in twine. Some of the books were books were hard-bound, and had titles scrawled in fancy handwriting. Nyx assumed those were fairy tales of sorts. Deciding to really sell his act, Nyx picked up one of these presumed fairytales and began to read it. Surprisingly, Nyx found himself genuinely interested in the stories being sold by the Belle family. 

“Enjoying our books?” A voice behind the booth asked. Nyx looked up, startled. The boy he saw in front of him seemed to be nyx’s same age and similar height. He had brown hair, only slightly too long, and what looked like remnants of colour in his hair. Something in the back of Nyx mind whispered to him that he knew this boy. 

“Uhm- yes, actually. How much is it?”

“ 5 rubies, though, if you buy any other book from our booth, you get 2 for 4.”

Nyx glanced around the table displaying all of the journals and books, considering his options. He couldn’t help shake the feeling that he knew this boy. It was very likely that this boy might have walked in to nyx’s job, but something in the back of his mind, again, whispered that that wasn’t the case. A part of Nyx wanted desperately to know who this mystery boy was. Another part of him thought that maybe, just maybe, he didn’t wasn’t to know. Subconsciously, Nyx was hoping this boy was Kai Prevost, Nyx’s once best friend. But, if it truly was him, Nyx wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle the information. All these years and the boy he’d missed for so, so long right here, in the village of Estorra, waiting to be found? Was it possible? Nyx also feared his reaction. Would he get so excited that he accidentally used his magic? Would he get angry and shout at Kai? Snapping himself out of his inner monologue, Nyx’s eyes settled on a soft cover leather bound book. On the cover of this book, was an engraving of a tree, and around it, was a small, elegant border, and the two sides were held shut together by a piece of twine. Seeing the twine, Nyx reached up to his neck and fiddled with the pendant that hung there since he was a young boy.

“So? Are you going to get another book?” With a grimace, Nyx noticed he’d been quiet for too long. In an attempt to end the slight awkwardness, he said, “Yeah-uh- I’ll take the one in my hand and the one with the tree on it, to your left.”

“Alright, that will be 4 rubies, please.” Nyx handed him the currency and took the books he bought. Just as he turned and made to leave, the now familiar voice called after him. “Wait!” The boy Nyx was speaking to earlier shouted from behind him. Nyx turned back to face the boy. “Do I, by any chance, know you?” 

Nyx froze. This was the moment of truth. Would he chicken out, or confront Kai (who was he kidding, he wasn’t even sure if this was Kai or not!), or just run away?

“Er- I’m not sure?” Nyx managed.

“Really? Aw, thats a shame, I really thought- hey wait! Where are you going!?” Nyx began to run. He didn’t know where he was going or why but the rush of wind in his face, the familiar ache of running, and the quick-paced and irregular sounds of footsteps (both his own and what he could only assume were Kai’s behind him) only motivating him to continue running because if he didn’t, he’d be forced to confront Kai and he wasn’t sure how that would play out and he didn’t want to hurt Kai’s feelings.

Nyx, in a desperate attempt to outrun Kai, turned a corner. Shoot! Nyx thought, when he saw he turned into a dead end. He did a quick scan of his surroundings. They were in some sort of alleyway behind some stores of the village. It wasn’t too narrow, nor too wide, but from what Nyx could see, the way he came in, was the only way out. He was trapped. Too soon, Nyx heard footsteps nearing the alleyway, and Kai showed up. At some point during the chase, Nyx’s cloak clasp opened and exposed the gift Kai had gotten him all those years ago. A small glass vial filled with sand, attached to a piece of twine to creat a pendant.

“So it is you, Nyx” Kai said, after seeing the pendant. “All these years and I thought we'd never speak again.” Nyx stayed silent, not trusting himself to speak. “So, were you ever adopted? You couldn’t have aged out of the system; you’ve got one more year left.”

After a moment of silence, Nyx finally spoke. “I ran away.”

“You what?”

“Yeah. It’s kind of a long story.”

“Well, I’ve got all day. ‘s matter of fact, so do you. Come on, I’ll take you back to my house, and we can spend the day with each other.”

“Wha- I can’t do that!” Nyx spluttered.

“And why not?” Kai demanded.

“I wouldn’t want to impose.” Nyx said quietly, almost shyly. At this Kai burst out laughing. 

“Impose? Nyx, you’re basically my brother, so I really don’t think you’d be imposing on anything.”

“Alright, Fine. Lead the way, Kai.”

Nyx still couldn’t believe this was happening. In the last 3 hours, not only did he meet his best friend for the first time in years, but he also met Kai’s 3 siblings, his parents and two pets. He ate dinner with the family and enjoyed the domestic environment. Finally, after Nyx spent time with the family, Kai showed Nyx his room. Nyx marvelled at the sheer size of the room and gawked at all the books on the shelf (“you’ve read all of those?”). Finally, the two sat down on Kai’s bed. 

“So earlier, you mentioned you ran away from the orphanage?” Kai said.

“Oh that. Yeah, I did.”

“Well, what are you waiting for? Give me the details!”  
“Ok so, this boy at the orphanage, I think his name was Remulous or Remus or something, he saw me doing magic-”

“He what?” Kai interrupted.

“Sh! Let me finish! So anyway…”

Kai and Nyx spent the rest of that evening exchanging stories and sharing memories. Nyx had never felt this content and happy. Half way through one of the stories Kai was telling, Nyx felt his eyelids begin to get heavy, he felt the beginnings of a yawn and each blink took tremendous effort. Kai noticed and stopped midway through his story. He got off his head and got Nyx to lay under the covers. 

“Goodnight, Nyx.” Kai said on his way out, aware that Nyx was already asleep.

Kai headed outside the room, down the corridor and to his parents’ bedroom. “Mother, father, I’ve got a question.” 

“Yeah?” Kai’s father replied.

“Can we adopt Nyx?”


End file.
